| SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 10.12.06 3:33 PM |
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| Orlando Hosts a Spirited 2006 FunShop |
| The second FunShop of the season featured great food, entertainment, and decor, all within the abundant space at the Orange County Convention Center. |
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| There was plenty of room for creative juices to flow at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). Under the direction of Aviva Samuels, Rebecca Kravets, and Jac Guthrie from Outside the Lines Productions, "A Celebration of the Spirits" brought Halloween to Orlando a few weeks early and with a fun twist.
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | | Outside the Lines Productions created a haunted mansion in the Valencia Balloroom the Orange County Convention Center for the Orlando FunShop. |
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 | | Room Service's furniture plus Outside the Lines' decor equaled a spooky parlor for guests to sit in. |
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 | | Black and red seating provided by Panache: An Event Rental Company matched the haunted look of the event. |
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 | | Levy Restaurants' colorful, plentiful, and carefully presented food presentation included fresh tuna, scallops, shrimp shooters, and stuffed peppers. |
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 | | Levy Restaurants also cooked to order baby lamb chops using bricks, a steel pan, and a Sterno candle. |
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 | | The Valencia Ballroom of the center was transformed into two distinct sections, each with its own decor and catering. |
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 | | Los Lawn Boys, the rock band from Shredder Entertainment, kicked off the evening with their blaring tunes and even dressed to match the theme. |
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 | | In the parlor, a living portrait from Wise Guys followed guests' movements. |
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 | | This bedroom came complete with a dead body and ghostly accents. |
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A zombie French maid and funeral director/usher from Wise Guys led more than 125 attendees into the center's Valencia Ballroom to encounter an environment with a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde complex—one half was red and dark with flames projected onto the walls, red draping, and ghastly decor; the other half was pristine and ethereal with white fabric-draped gazebos and gobos of rolling clouds. In the main area, Outside the Lines created a haunted mansion within the ballroom. Ghoulish accents such as fake blood, monsters, cobwebs, bats, and other spooky items complemented numerous vignettes including a dining room, which featured an armoire filled with eerie decor and inedible concoctions upon the plates; a bedroom that had a window facade with a ghost watching over it; a noose hanging from a tree, and bloodstained feet sticking out from under the bed. In a study created with Edgar Allan Poe in mind, guests found rich mahogany furniture from Room Service, antique books, bloody reading glasses, and jars full of decaying body parts. Above the fireplace in the parlor, Wise Guys' character actor brought to life an interactive portrait, which followed guests' movements as they lounged on sapphire-colored sofas.
Shredder Entertainment's high-octane band, Los Lawn Boys, who came dressed for the role, welcomed attendees to the event. The drummer portrayed the Phantom of the Opera, a musician-turned-zombie played the guitar, and the lead singer was a devil. They rocked the place with songs from Bon Jovi, AC/DC, and other bands. Interface Sound Productions provided a new staging system for the band: rolling risers that allowed each performer to be on his own stage, which could be set at varying heights. Interface also built a 15- by 20-foot screen behind the band, along with two 10 1/2- by- 14- foot screens that flanked the entrance, giving everyone a view of what was happening throughout the event, no matter where they were.
Executive chef James Katurakes (aka Chef K) from Levy Restaurants, the OCCC's in-house caterer, created tempting dishes to match both theme areas with the help of executive sous chefs Dave Thompson and Laura Fenelli. In the haunted dining room, a buffet table was stacked with four tiers offering mini red and yellow peppers stuffed with Boursin cheese; Bloody Mary shrimp shooters; Ahi tuna martini with red chili aioli and tomato salsa; and blackened scallops with red pepper coulis, tropical salsa, and horseradish. Three food stations offered piping hot servings of deviled crab and stuffed lobster diavolo; churrasco with salsa verde; and shrimp sofrito with garlic, pepper confetti, brandy, and mustard oil, all continually cooked in front of guests. Panache: An Event Rental Company set up highboy and cocktail tables around the stations so guests could easily get up for seconds (and thirds). Panache's triangle tables were covered with black linens and accented with Chiavari chairs with red cushions or vice versa with red tables and black cushioned chairs wrapped with chain links to heighten the design.
Chandeliers made from wrought iron and faux decorative skulls hung suspended above some of the tables, which were also decorated with short square vases of red roses or dead tree branches arranged in tall vases. Guests lounged on Room Service's striking red leather sofas, grouped with ottomans and accent tables. The new table head from Wise Guys—a fortune teller inside a crystal ball—kept everyone entertained with its hilarious misfortunes, but there was even more to discover in heaven.
Continue reading about the 2006 Orlando FunShop
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